


so far to sail

by carolinecrane



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-26
Updated: 2010-09-26
Packaged: 2017-10-12 05:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Those carnations people used to buy each other in high school were just another way to make kids feel bad about themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so far to sail

He blames it on the case they just finished. Ten days hanging around a high school brought back a lot of memories for all of them, and Derek's no exception. So it's no surprise they all find themselves swapping high school stories on the flight home, from disastrous prom nights to stolen first kisses. Reid's been quiet through the entire conversation, nose stuck in a book like he really thinks that's going to fool anybody. The truth is he just doesn't have any stories to tell, at least not the kind anybody wants to relive.

"What about Valentine's Day?" Prentiss says, scrunching up her nose at the memory. "Remember those carnations everybody bought for each other? I bet Morgan had to rent a truck to get his home."

JJ and Prentiss both laugh, and Morgan tears his gaze away from Reid to smile at them. "I did okay."

"Now there's an understatement," Prentiss says, and Morgan rolls his eyes when they laugh again.

"So what, no valentines for you back in high school?" Morgan asks, hoping to shift the attention away from what his coworkers think they know about him.

"We moved around a lot," Prentiss answers, but she's pursing her lips the way she does whenever she's uncomfortable. "I was always the new girl, it didn't do much for my social life."

"Well I know JJ did just fine," Morgan says, glancing across the aisle in time to watch her smile at some long-forgotten memory.

"It was horrible. I'm allergic to carnations," JJ says. "Every Valentine's Day I'd spend the entire day sneezing and looking like I'd just spent an hour crying. If I was dating anybody at the time, there was always a rumor by lunch that he'd dumped me."

Morgan laughs along with Prentiss, and when he glances to his right he finds that even Reid's smiling. His nose is still buried in his book, and he's probably biting his tongue against some diatribe on pollen allergies and the human sensitivity to certain types of flowers, but the corners of his mouth are turned up in that shy smile of his, and that makes Morgan feel a little better about the entire conversation.

"What about you, Reid?"

The second Prentiss says his name Reid's smile is gone, and Morgan's heart sinks as he watches it fade. When he looks up she's smiling, but as soon as she meets his eyes her smile falters a little. So he figures he must look mad, which isn't really fair, because it's not like Morgan's never teased Reid before. He's probably the worst of them, or at least he used to be. And Reid doesn't really need Morgan to defend him, but sometimes it's hard to remember that.

"No one's ever given me flowers," Reid says, slow like he had to think about it for a minute. He finally looks up from his book, and if it wasn't for the disappearing smile, Morgan wouldn't know the question had phased him at all.

"Lucky you," JJ says, and Morgan has to hand it to her, because she's always been good at looking after Reid. She's a pretty good sport about letting people laugh at her too, and before he knows it she's got Prentiss off on another subject entirely. Morgan glances at Reid, but he's got his nose stuck right back in his book again, and he knows that's the last they're going to get out of Reid until they get back to Virginia.

~

Morgan's at his desk the next morning when Reid walks in, two cups of coffee in hand and that stupid bag slung over his chest. He's not even halfway through the door before they descend upon him, Garcia leading the pack, but Prentiss and JJ are right on her heels. They've been lurking by the door since they first walked into the bullpen, just waiting to pounce on Reid. And it was worth getting here extra early, worth leaving Reid asleep so he could swing by the store before work, just so he could see the look on Reid's face right now.

"Spill," Garcia demands as Reid stops in front of his desk, eyes wide just for a second before he pulls himself together again. But there's a blush creeping up his neck already, and he sets the coffees he's still carrying down on his desk.

"There's no card. We checked," Garcia says, and Morgan smiles to himself at the thought of how much trouble Kevin's in if he forgot what day it is.

"We did not," Prentiss says, but one glance from Reid makes her wince. "Okay, we did. But we wouldn't have read it."

Reid smiles and pulls his bag over his head, dropping it next to his desk. When he straightens up again he looks at the vase full of roses on his desk, a smile Morgan's seen a thousand times tugging at the corners of his mouth. And _that_ makes spending a hundred dollars on roses on Valentine's Day morning worth every penny.

"Thanks for respecting my privacy, guys," he says, but he's still smiling, which sort of ruins the effect.

"We pry because we care," Garcia answers, but she lets JJ and Prentiss lead her away from Reid's desk, muttering something about the number of florists who deliver at this hour, and how fast she can trace credit card receipts. Morgan knows she'll check the security tapes eventually, and when she does she'll see him on there, carrying a vase overflowing with two dozen red roses into the building. He knows she'll probably waste her entire morning on it, but he trusts her enough to know she'll keep it to herself once she figures it out.

He shakes his head at the thought of _that_ conversation and glances toward Reid's desk again, smiling as he watches Reid walk toward him. When he reaches Morgan's desk he hands over a cup of coffee, but the smile he gives Morgan is even better than caffeine. "This doesn't seem like much of an offering, considering," Reid says, inclining his head toward his desk without actually looking at it.

"It's just what I wanted," Morgan says, and when Reid blushes he doesn't try to hold back a laugh.

"Thanks for the flowers."

Morgan shrugs and sets his coffee down, looking up at Reid for a long moment before he answers. "Those? Those are just the start. Just you wait until I get you alone."

Reid flushes an even deeper shade of red at that, and Morgan can't help picturing just how far down it goes. "I'll hope for a boring day at the office, then."

"That makes two of us."

Morgan lifts his coffee as Reid crosses back to his desk, watching Reid over the top of his cup. And there's a chance they'll get a case and end up stuck in some hotel for the rest of the week, but if there's any justice in the world at all, things will go their way, just this once.


End file.
